The Name's the Same
The Name's the Same was a game show where people with the name of a famous person are questioned by a celebrity panel. Gameplay Each standard round featured a contestant who had a "famous name"; i.e., their full name was the same as either a famous person, place or thing (with the latter usually taking the first initial "A.", such as "A. Table"), or occasionally an action (such as "I. Draw", or "Will Kiss"). The contestant was introduced and referred to throughout the game as "Mr. X" or one of two variations ("Miss X" or "Mrs. X" for a woman; "Master X" for a young boy as was the standard at the time). A small curtain was opened to the audience, showing a placard with the contestant's name, along with a drawing depicting the namesake; famous people were often caricatured. The panelists were allocated 10 questions each, with the number remaining denoted in running tally on the wall behind them. The questions had to be yes or no questions, and were posed to the contestant as if they were the person, place, or thing their name represented with the contestant answering as their namesake. The panel could pass to save some of their questions for later on in the game. Any member of the panel who failed to identify the contestant's name wrote the contestant a check for $25, meaning each contestant won either $50 if their name was guessed by a panelist, or $75 if it was not. When a fourth panelist was added in early 1954, the check amounts were decreased to $20 per panelist, making the prizes $60 for a correct guess and $80 if the panel was stumped. Sometimes a contestant's celebrity namesake was brought out at the end of the round to surprise the contestant; other times, a celebrity was the guest without pretext. The celebrity then played a special round called "I'd Like To Be…" in which the panel tried to guess, in the same fashion as with civilians, who the celebrity would like to be if they could be anyone else. In September 1953, "I'd Like To Be…" was replaced with "Secret Wish", in which the panel attempted to guess something that the guest would secretly like to do or have happen (for example, Kirk Douglas wished to coach the Vassar lacrosse team, and Van Johnson wanted Marilyn Monroe to sit on his lap). The celebrity's winnings ($50/$75, later $60/$80) went to their favorite charity. A few times near the end of the run, host Clifton Fadiman would welcome the panel, and then reveal the episode's guest to the studio and home audience. The curtain would pull back with the guest standing behind it in place of the usual caricature. A typical episode contained four rounds - two standard rounds, the celebrity round, and then a final standard round; some episodes would feature one less or one more standard round. At the end of each episode, each panelist would tell how much money they "lost" followed by a good-night. Notes For the first three years of the show's production, the panel consisted of three celebs. By 1954, the panel was increased to four celebs, similar to another panel show, What's My Line?. International Versions A British version was made for radio (BBC Home Service) and TV (BBC Television) with British namesakes of famous people, buildings and things. It originally aired on radio with Raymond Glendenning hosting in 1953, and then ran on television from 1953 to 1954 with Bernard Braden as the original host, later replaced by Peter Martyn. A one-off revival edition was produced for BBC Four in 2005 (with Hugh Dennis serving as host) as part of a season of programs detailing the "lost decade". Rating Music *1st Main - "Shooting Star" by Sidney Torch *2nd Main - "Meet Me in Saint Louis, Louis" by Kerry Mills Studio Elysee Theater, New York City, NY Inventors Mark Goodson & Bill Todman Links [http://www.game-show-utopia.net/gene/rayburnnamesthesame.htm The Name's the Same @ Gene Rayburn's World] [http://www.game-show-utopia.net/billtnts/cullennamesthesame.htm The Name's the Same @ Bill Cullen's World] Episode guide (August 6, 1952-October 7, 1955), by Matt Ottinger Category:Panel Game Category:ABC shows Category:Network shows Category:Primetime shows Category:Goodson-Todman Productions Category:Fremantle Category:Revivals Category:1951 premieres Category:1954 premieres Category:1954 endings Category:1955 endings Category:Long-Running